Shanghai density

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January 24th 2008

Published: January 24th 2008

Write a blog, they said....but why is it always so hard to think of a first line? All down to my impossibly Shanghai standards of hilarity, no doubt. Finished the Kodaly kodalliance today, a day early as students are heading off tomorrow on their Chinese New Year holidaze...yippee! Really enjoyed the few days with the methodology girls (not the best name for a pop band...it's as well they are into music education) and believe it or not I didn't notice Hailing taking about 1000 photos during the classes. But fair play to her she hopped up to the piano and gave it serious Hungarity whenever rechoired, and she was as well-tempered as the instrument itself (though matters are seldom so black and white I suppose: she's a sharp customer, and sure she's grand, as upright as any citizen of this monstrocity, not at all Shanghaily strung) .

Yesterday and today I went along to choir rehearsals with Hailing. They took place in a residential district of the city where the groups of tall, imaginatively lit buildings look like massive bar-charts. There is actually an oppressive atmosphere to be felt when surrounded by such height. Each building in the 'estate' we parked in had about 30 storeys and I made a rough estimate of 15 flats across the front and the same across the back. The wren boys would do well there. The old lady in charge of the choir introduced me as a professor from England. ehh! Nevertheless, we got on fine! Hailing whipped them into shape in Brahms, Monteverdi, Vaughan-Williams and Britten. Serious language-hopping, and plenty of laughs.

Cornflakes for breakfast, lunch in McDonalds and dinner in Pizza Hut. Not yer typical Chinese diet! Saw a bit more of the Pudong district in the east of the city. This part has more of the street-market atmosphere I expected here and lots of people milling around outside, eating and browsing at various stalls.

The television news is showing a big snow in the south of the country. Lots of people stranded on buses and extra coal being shipped in from the north. Must be serious...it's below -10 in the north of the country: I wouldn't have thought they'd have a whole lot of coal to spare! Anyway, it's perfectly bearable in Shanghai.

I'm beginning to get used to being a passenger in this fast-moving city. Cars are scarily close together and weaving and lane-hopping are the norm. Some of the junctions are almost beyond belief, but somehow they work..nobody seems to mind that they are heading straight for the oncoming trucks until the last second when they swing left, narrowly avoiding the unlit bicycles. The vast majority of cars are large, shiny, make-a-statement saloons, but the taxis are good old VW Santanas.

So - no work tomorrow..a big sleep I think! Happy birthday Mammy! And Pamela! And well done Anne on surviving the inspection, soaring through it no doubt!! And sorry Ailie for the state of my hair...after all your hard work!

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